Air control device



March 26, 1963 5, wo AL 3,082,678

AIR CONTROL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6. 1961 THE\R ATTORNEYfivfl Ea m N E 8 Vw f m t a a g a MW 3 G 4 o 9 A z I 2 32 5c a a M I, 6ul- 3@ 2 H .6. z 7 G 3 i S- 8 T f a 4 33 2 6 I 2 4 9%. a 3 f 11 4 m 3 T!O .5 5m 2 March 1963 5. J. WOLLEY ET AL 3,082,678

AIR CONTROL DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 6, 1961 I II -22.

INVENTORS SAMUEL 3" WOOLEY &COOPER :r. PADeaTT BY THELlR ATTO NEY UiteThe present invention relates to a device for controlling the flow ofair and is more particularly concerned with an improved low cost grilleand damper assembly for controlling the flow of air through a passage ina wall of an air duct.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved,low cost air control device for controlling the flow of air through apassage in the wall of an air duct.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary grille anddamper assembly including a linearly movable control means forpositioning the damper, the control means and damper being soconstructed and arranged that the linear position of the control meansaccurately and proportionately indicates the position of the damper.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a unitarygrille and damper assembly for controlling the flow of air through apassage in one wall of an air duct, the assembly comprising a framemember including a face portion and inwardly extending edges whichcontact the duct wall around the passage when the assembly is mounted onthe wall of an air duct. An air passage is provided in the upper sectionof the face portion of the frame member and a damper is pivotallymounted on the inwardly extending side edges of the frame member formovement about an axis adjacent the lower edge of the damper between aclosed position in which the main portion of the damper is substantiallyparallel and close to the face portion of the frame member and an openposition in which the free end of the damper extends into the duct.Adjusting or positioning means for the damper is slidably mounted in alongitudinal slot in the face portion of the frame member and thisadjusting means has a groove therein which engages a recessed lower edgeportion of the damper which is spaced from the axis of rotation of thedamper. The edge portion engaged by the adjusting means is offset at anangle from the remaining portion of the damper a greater distanceadjacent one end thereof than the other whereby longitudinal slidingmovement of the adjusting means will cause the damper to move betweenits closed and opened positions.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a forced air cooled refrigeratorcabinet including the grille and damper assembly of the presentinvention for controlling the amount of air flowing through a storagecompartment thereof;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the grille and damper assemblytaken generally along line 22 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the damper portion of theassembly in its open position;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 ofFIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along line 5--5of FIGURE 2.

States Patent 0 M 3,682,678 Patented Mar. 26, 1953 While the air controldevice of the present invention can be employed in various applicationsfor the control of the flow of air through a passageway in an air ductWall, it will be particularly described in its application for thecontrol of the flow of refrigerated air through a storage compartment ofa forced air cooled refrigerator of the type described and claimed inthe copending application of Henry L. Shove, Serial No. 147,816, filedconcurrently herewith and assigned to the same assignee as the presentinvention. The invention described and claimed in the application ofHenry L. Shove was made prior to the present invention and it is notintended to claim herein anything shown or described in the Shoveapplication which is to be regarded as prior art with respect to thepresent invention.

A forced air cooled refrigerator of the type described and claimed inthe aforesaid Shove application and including the air control device ofthe present invention is illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 of theaccompanying drawing as including a freezer compartment 1 for thestorage of frozen foods and a fresh food compartment 2 for the storageof unfrozen foods. Both compartments are refrigerated by the forcedcirculation of air over an evaporator 3 positioned within the insulatedrear wall of the cabinet behind the freezer compartment '1. The air iscirculated by means of a centrifugal fan 4 having a first outlet 5 and asecond outlet 6. Air issuing from the first outlet 5 flows into the topof the freezer compartment through a plurality of openings (not shown)and returns to the evaporator 3 through an air return passage 7.

The air supply means for the fresh food compartment 2 comprises acontinuous duct '8 arranged along the rear wall of the fresh foodcompartment 2 and designed along its entire length to carry the maximumamount of air that may be required to cool the compartment 2. The duct 8has its inlet connected to the fan outlet 6 and its outlet 9communicating with the housing 1!} enclosing the evaporator 3 and thusprovides an airflow path completely outside of the two compartments 1and 2.

For the purpose of introducing a controlled amount of cooled air intothe compartment 2, means are provided for bypassing some of the air fromthe duct 8 into the fresh food compartment and back into the duct insuch a manner that the total air flow through the fan outlet 6 will notbe significantly changed even though the amount of air flowing throughthe compartment 2 is varied. In the refrigerator illustrated in FIGURE1, this is accomplished by means of a branched duct 14 having an open,uncontrolled inlet or supply port 15 communicating with the lowerportion of the compartment 2. Air introduced into the compartmentthrough the port 15 returns to the duct at a point downstream in theduct through a return port or passage 16 (FIGURE 2).

As is broadly taught in the aforesaid Shove application, the flow of airthrough the compartment 2 is regulated and controlled by a suitabledamper arrangement provided on the return port 16, this damperarrangement being so designed that as the port 16 is gradually opened toconnect the interior of the compartment 2 with the duct 8, the duct 8will be correspondingly restricted upstream from the port 16 so thatthere will be created a pressure increase in this area of the duct 8which will force air to flow from the duct into the compartment 2through the inlet port 15.

The present invention is directed to a new and improved air controldevice which is particularly adapted for controlling the flow of airthrough the port 16.

This air flow control means, generally indicated in FIGURE 1 of thedrawing by the numeral 20 and shown in greater detail in the remainingfigures of the drawing, is particularly designed to control the flow ofair from the compartment 2 back into the duct 8 through the passage 16with a corresponding inverse control of the duct area opening at orahead of the passage 16.

The air flow control device of the present invention comprises a framemember 21 which is of generally rectangular configuration and whichincludes inwardly extending edges or flanges 22 on the four sidesthereof adapted to engage the front wall 23 of the duct 8 around theopening or passage 16 when the frame member is secured to that wall bymeans of mounting screws 24. The face portion 25 of the frame memberincludes a plurality of air passages 26 in the upper section thereofforming a grille. The grille formed by the passage 26 is closed oropened by means of an adjustable onepiece damper 27, preferably formedof sheet metal or the like. This one-piece damper 27 is pivotallymounted on the frame member 21 by hinge means comprising a pair of pins29 extending through the side edges of the frame member 21 and the pinreceiving elements 30 provided at the lower opposed corners of thedamper 27. By this mounting arrangement the damper can be moved betweena closed position in which the flat upper or main portion 31 of thedamper is substantially in contact with the inner side of the faceportion 25 of the frame member to close the air passages 26 and an openposition as illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawing in which the majorportion of the damper extends into the duct 8 below, that is, upstreamfrom the path of the air flowing through passages 26.

Means for moving the damper between its open and closed positions andfor linearly adjusting the damper at any intermediate position comprisesa damper adjusting means 33 slidably mounted in a slot 34 extendinglongitudinally in the face portion 25 of the frame member below the airpassages 26 and above the pins 29. In addition to a knob 37 provided onthe outer face of the frame member 22 for manually moving the adjustingmeans in the slot 34, the adjusting means includes a shaft 38 extendingrearwardly from the face portion 25. This shaft portion 38 includes agroove 39- for engaging or receiving a transverse edge portion 4% of thedamper 27 which is spaced from the axis of rotation of the damper asrepresented by the pins 29 and is between that axis and the main damperportion 31. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, this edgeportion 40 is the bottom wall of a recess 41 provided at the lower edgeof the damper 27 and this edge 43 is shaped or contoured relative to theremaining portion of the damper 27 and the pivot axis of the damper sothat as the control knob 37 is moved from one end of the slot 34 to theother, the main or closure portion 31 of the damper will move from itsclosed position to its open position. In other words, the edge 40 ofdamper 27 is shaped so that when the adjusting means 33 is in the righthand end of the slot as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing the damper willclose the air passages 26 and when the adjusting means 33 is moved tothe left end of the slot the damper will be open and extending into theduct 3 as shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing. The portion of the damper 27including the edge 40 is therefore offset a greater distance inwardly oraway from the face 25 at the left hand end 43 thereof than at the rightend 44. More specifically, as shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, the leftend 43 of the recess is offset rearwardly from the main portion 31 ofthe damper or more specifically from a plane extending through the pins29 parallel to the main portion 31 of the damper while the right end 44of the edge 40 is substantially in the plane extending through the pins29 and parallel to the main portion 31 of the damper. By thisarrangement and with the slot 39 in the adjusting means 33 alsopositioned rearwardly of the pins 29, when the adjusting means 33 ismoved to its left hand position in the slot 34, contact of the groove 39with the edge 40 causes the damper to be pivoted forwardly intosubstantial engagement with the portion of the frame member 21 includingthe air passages 26. Sliding movement of the damper adjusting means 33to the right hand position effects, by reason of the graduallydecreasing offset of the edge 40, cor responding movement of the damperto its open position as illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawing. Also,since all parts of the damper tend to move downwardly with reference tothe slot 39 as the damper moves from its closed position to its openposition, this edge portion 40 as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawingangles slightly upwardly from the left to right or in other words therecess 41 is deeper at the right hand end thereof than at the left tocompensate for the relative movement between this portion of the damperand the groove 39 in the varying positions of the damper 31.

By this arrangement, there is obtained a control of the position of thedamper or in other words the fiow of air through the air passages 26which is the inverse of the duct area opening remaining when the damperis moved to any given position. As the edge portion 40 of the damper iscontoured so that it is in a substantially straight line whichprogressively slopes downwardly and rearwardly from one end to theother, the control of the damper is linear. In other words, when thecontrol adjusting means 33 is in its left hand position the damper iscompletely closed except for minor air leakage through the assembly andwhen it is in its right hand position the damper 27 is in its completelyopen position blocking the duct 8 downstream from the passage 16. In anyintermediate position, the position of the control means 33 in the slot34 accurately indicates the directly proportional opening of the damper.For example, when the adjusting means 33 is in its mid position, thedamper 27 is also in its half open position.

Thus by means of a linearly movable control there is obtained anaccurate and proportional control of the damper so that suitable linearindicia provided on the face portion 25 of the frame member 22 adjacentthe control or adjusting means 33 (using the usual numerical scale) willaccurately indicate the relative position of the damper and theproportioning of the air flow through the compartment 2 relative to theair flow bypassed through the portion of the duct 8 between theconnection to outlet 15 and the inlet or return port 16.

While there has been shown and described a specific embodiment of thepresent invention it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto and it is intended by the appended claims to cover allmodifications within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A unitary grille and damper assembly for controlling the flow of airthrough an opening in one wall of an air duct, said assembly comprisinga frame member including a face portion and edges for contact with saidduct wall around said passage, said face portion having an air passagein the upper section thereof, a one-piece damper including a mainportion for closing said air passage, hinge means for pivotally mountedsaid damper on said frame member for movement of said damper about anaxis spaced downwardly from said main portion and parallel to said faceportion between a closed position in which said main portion issubstantially parallel to said face portion and an open position inwhich said main portion extends into said duct, said damper including alongitudinal edge between said main portion and said axis, said faceportion of said grille having a longitudinally extending slot in thelower section thereof opposite said longitudinal damper edge, a damperadjusting means slidably mounting in said slot, said adjusting meanshaving a groove therein engaging said longitudinal edge of said damper,said longitudinal edge extending at an angle to said face portionwhereby longitudinal move- 5 ment of said adjusting means pivots saiddamper between its open and closed positions.

2. A unitary grille and damper assembly for controlling the flow of air,said assembly comprising a frame member including a face portion, saidface portion having an air passage in the upper section thereof, aone-piece damper including a main portion for closing said air passage,hinge means for pivotally mounted said damper on said frame member formovement of said damper about an axis spaced downwardly from said mainportion between a closed position in which said main portion issubstantially parallel to said face portion and an open position inwhich said main portion is spaced from said face portion, said damperincluding a longitudinal edge between said main portion and said axis,said face portion of said grille having a longitudinally extending slotin said longitudinal edge of said damper, a damper ad justing meansslidably mounting in said slot, said adjusting means having a groovetherein engaging said longitudinal edge of said damper, saidlongitudinal edge being spaced a greater distance from said face portionat one end than at the other whereby longitudinal movement of saidadjusting means pivots said damper between its open and closedpositions.

3. A unitary grille and damper assembly for controlling the flow of airthrough an opening in one wall of an air duct, said assembly comprisinga frame member including a face portion and edges for contact with saidduct wall around said passage, said face portion having an air passagein the upper section thereof, a one-piece damper including a mainportion for closing said air passage, hinge means for pivotally mountedsaid damper on said frame member for movement of said damper about anaxis spaced downwardly from said main portion between a closed positionin which said main portion is substantially parallel to said faceportion and an open position in which said main portion extends intosaid duct, said damper including a longitudinal lower edge between saidmain portion and said axis, said face portion of said grille having agenerally longitudinally extending slot in the lower section thereofopposite said longitudinal damper edge, a damper adjusting meansslidably mounting in said slot, said adjusting means having a groovetherein engaging said longitudinal damper edge, said longitudinal damperedge being spaced a greater distance from said face portion at one endthan at the other whereby longitudinal movement of said adjusting meansin said slot pivots said damper between its open and closed positions.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,212,897 Crawford Aug. 27, 1940 2,712,281 Rieoel July 5, 1955 2,901,962Derringer Sept. 1, 1959

1. A UNITARY GRILLE AND DAMPER ASSEMBLY FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF AIRTHROUGH AN OPENING IN ONE WALL OF AN AIR DUCT, SAID ASSEMBLY COMPRISINGA FRAME MEMBER INCLUDING A FACE PORTION AND EDGES FOR CONTACT WITH SAIDDUCT WALL AROUND SAID PASSAGE, SAID FACE PORTION HAVING AN AIR PASSAGEIN THE UPPER SECTION THEREOF, A ONE-PIECE DAMPER INCLUDING A MAINPORTION FOR CLOSING SAID AIR PASSAGE, HINGE MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTEDSAID DAMPER ON SAID FRAME MEMBER FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID DAMPER ABOUT ANAXIS SPACED DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID MAIN PORTION AND PARALLEL TO SAID FACEPORTION BETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION IN WHICH SAID MAIN PORTION ISSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID FACE PORTION AND AN OPEN POSITION INWHICH SAID MAIN PORTION EXTENDS INTO SAID DUCT, SAID DAMPER INCLUDING ALONGITUDINAL EDGE BETWEEN SAID MAIN PORTION AND SAID AXIS, SAID FACEPORTION OF SAID GRILLE HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOT IN THELOWER SECTION THEREOF OPPOSITE SAID LONGITUDINAL DAMPER EDGE, A DAMPERADJUSTING MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTING IN SAID SLOT, SAID ADJUSTING MEANSHAVING A GROOVE THEREIN ENGAGING SAID LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF SAID DAMPER,SAID LONGITUDINAL EDGE EXTENDING AT AN ANGLE TO SAID FACE PORTIONWHEREBY LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ADJUSTING MEANS PIVOTS SAID DAMPERBETWEEN ITS OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS.